24 Reasons Why You Should Attend These Blog Conferences

I’ve got three blog conferences I’ll be speaking at, and I want to give you 24 good reasons why you should be at each of these.

March 29-30 – WordCamp Dallas

WordCamp Dallas is going to be one of the hottest WordPress-oriented blog events this year. People are flying in from all over the country to join Dallas area bloggers to enjoy all things WordPress and blogging. The 10 speakers you will not want to miss are:

Cali Lewis and Neal Campbell are famous for their popular GeekBrief.TV, a popular web technology and consumer electronics videocast, and they will be covering video blogs and incorporating multimedia into your blog.

“SEO for Bloggers” is by Chris Smith of Netconcepts, the company’s Lead GravityStream Strategist, and an expert in custom consulting on natural search optimization. Over the years, he has contributed to and oversaw development for diverse applications including: natural search optimization, advertising forecast systems, weather data delivery, city guides, campus area yellow pages, internet analytics, map-based search, e-cards, XML, RSS, wireless applications, and private-label yellow pages or PPC ad distribution provided to AOL, MSN, InfoSpace, Lycos, Google, Local.com, and many others. His work in organic search engine optimization can be found on Search Engine Land, WebProNews, and Natural Search Blog.

Aaron Brazell of TechnoSailor and b5media brings his business and networking expertise to share, helping us learn more about blog networks and marketing, as well as what’s hot in blog technology.

Weblog Tools Collection’s Mark Ghosh will be making his first WordPress event, bringing his business expertise which turned around Weblog Tools Collection into a “source” for WordPress and blogging news.

Jacob Santos is one of the new programming experts in WordPress. He will be covering “Testing with WordPress” for WordPress Themes and Plugins.

May 2-4 – Successful and Outstanding Bloggers Conference – Chicago

The Successful and Outstanding Bloggers Conference is a unique event for bloggers called the “Biz School for Bloggers.” It brings together professional and upcoming business-oriented bloggers to learn from the best of the best about how to make money with your blog.

Brian Clark of Copyblogger is quickly becoming one of the most recognized names in blogging, as well as an Internet marketing strategist, content developer, entrepreneur, and recovering attorney. Clark has built four successful offline businesses using online marketing techniques, and sold scores of products and services online via joint venture and affiliate arrangements.

Muhammad Saleem has become one of the leading experts in social bookmarking and networking sites, covering social media and socially driven content on his site and many others. HIred by Netscape as a professional social bookmarker, he is a recognized leader and speaker in this emerging field.

Chris Brogan is a social media expert specializing in building online and offline communities, including founding PodCamp Community UnConferences, a free unconference that explores the benefits of new media community tools. Chris is also community developer for Pulvermedia, and produces the Video on the Net Conference, which explores the disruptive impact of the broadband Internet on the future of TV, Film, and Entertainment.

Dave Bullock is best known for introducing the advanced testing and tracking and innovation method known as Taguchi-TRIZ to the internet marketing space. Students using these methods have increased conversion rates as much as a documented 600%. David has been featured in both He built a successful online/offline business after a $100,000,000 international sales career in the industrial automation and manufacturing industry. His practice has been featured in both Direct Marketing News and Black Enterprise Magazine.

Liz Strauss is considered one of the most influential relational blogger on the Internet turning her blog into a destination by developing a fiercely loyal community of readers. With over 20 years in the international publishing industry, she took the social networking of blogging to new heights with the development of the unique relationship conference, Successful and Outstanding Bloggers Conference, that gained the attention of BusinessWeek, the Chicago Sun-Times, and the Kellogg Innovation Network of the Kellogg School of Management.

ChristineKane.com is a blogger, singer, songwriter, consultant, and program leader. While her music is available online and off through Borders Books and other music outlets, she goes beyond musician to creative expert working with the US Federal Government to teach creativity for their Leadership Assessment Program for government leaders, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, CIA, and many colleges and universities, including University of Tennessee, Drury University and Boston College. She facilitates three-day retreats for women in the mountains of Western North Carolina four times a year, and shares her creative passion and success through her blog.

The Alliance for Distance Education in California Summit in Pasadena, California, April 2-5, 2008, is not just for educators. It is for bloggers and online business people who want to learn more about how web technologies are being used and developed in the education industry, as that is where our future rests. The online distance education market is one of the fastest growing online industries in the world, providing educational opportunities that exceeds borders and geographic restrictions.

The top leaders in distance education learning and web technologies will be bringing the lastest news and technologies to Pasadena, reaching out beyond the classroom to the global market. The three keynote speakers you do not want to miss are:

Farhad Saba, Ph.D is a blogger but also a long time leader in telecommunications and web technologies. Currently, he is the professor of Educational Technology at San Diego State University, where he teaches courses on distance education, and cyberculture. Involved in distance education since 1973, first as the Managing Director of Educational Radio and Television of Iran, then Director of the Telecommunications Division at the University of Connecticut, Dr. Saba is a founding leader in distance education with his company, Distance-Educator.com. He serves as a consultant to international corporations and local schools and governments, and continues his research into design, implementation and evaluation of distance education systems. He is also founder and President of Saba & Associates, an independent group of experienced consultants who specialize in distance education.

Yolanda Gayol, Ed.D. is Professor of Educational Technology at San Diego State University and blogs at Distance Education Village. She worked as a distance education specialist at NASA, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, Athabasca University, the University of Maryland University College and ICMA/USAID, among other international corporations and educational institutes. She is a leader in online education and distance learning.

That’s just the crème de la crème. Over a dozen leaders in online education and distance learning will be speaking in special sessions and on panels through the week, including me.

What Will You Really Be Missing?

By missing any of these powerful blogging and web technology events, you miss rubbing shoulders with the best of the best who are paving the path to success online. You are missing a chance to learn directly from those who have made all the mistakes and earned their reputation for excellence. You can have all your questions asked and answered by those who have been there, done that.

It’s a chance to get to know the trendsetters and path breakers in the blogging and web technology industry. You never know when you will need their expertise, and you never know when they will need yours. This is a change to get known and be known.

I’m not, but it’s nice to know that you read to the end of the article. :D I think there are hundreds of reasons to attend these conferences, and the speakers are often the least of it. It’s who you meet there that you “take” with you when you leave that makes attending these conferences so worthwhile.

theotheragentm: This is why many of these are on weekends – so you can play blogging instead of spending time with hobbies and family. :D

I’m stuck enjoying the good advice and interesting new media arguments of mostly American/Canadian bloggers and it is very hard for me in the hobbying context (of a very naive webcomic/creative writing effort) to be able to make it to any of these events at this stage.

I haven’t really caught word of any UK events and I get feeling that it is a missed opportunity considering the gradual breakdown of the BBC (and other bodies)as it struggles to meet technological/cultural changes.

There are more and more young creative types heading into web-publishing platforms like WordPress as a launchpad for video/audio content and even very naive attempts at cracking the web comic format with versatile themes like comicpress.

The majority of young individuals turning up to film/media festivals like FFRESH (Wales) I suspect don’t trade blog details or even connect through micro-blogging services like twitter, simply because the UK mindset in film/media education seems to be slow on the uptake in this regard. They don’t see the need for a staging area to consistently engage with potential employers, friends and perhaps even eventual customers/financial backers until they have been hit hard by the high demand for media positions in the UK job market.

I’d just really like to see something in the UK in the near future. Save us, please. *sobs into his desperate isolation in South Wales*

I’d love to attend, however, I’m stuck in Japan for the next few years. Considering the popularity of blogging and (more importantly) microblogging in this country, I wonder if there will be any conferences in the near future.

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